Pitman Pride2009 record: 12-0 CCC, 22-5 overallHead coach: Jeff Hayes (fifth year)Assistant: Brian DavisKey returners: Michael Davis, Morcos Boutros, Dillon Weddle, Tiki Brown, Alex Leven, Jacob Bolloli, Jason MoitosoOutlook: Coach Jeff Hayes welcomes a lot of new faces but the goals are all the same for the Pride, who reached the finals of the CIF Sac-Joaquin Section Division I postseason with a boatload of talent and experience. There’s still some experience left, such as in returning No. 1 singles player Michael Davis, and Hayes hopes to continue the program’s winning traditional. Last season marked the Pride’s second straight CCC title and their fourth in five seasons, in addition to losing only three league matches during that stretch. “We’ve been fairly dominant in our league for a long time,” Hayes said. “It’s going to be fun, being a lot more even and challenging this year.”

Turlock Bulldogs2009 record: 10-2 CCCHead coach: Juan Alaniz (second year)Assistant: Doug CornfootKey returners: Trevor Purdy, Scott Gray, Mike Lazar, Bryce Brenda, Nathan Potter, Grayson Blakele, Jaime SmithOutlook: One of the Bulldogs’ top goals is dethroning Pitman, their crosstown rival and last season’s Central California Conference champion. Turlock could do it, considering the Bulldogs’ top six singles players are returners. One of them is senior Trevor Purdy, the reigning league champ. He’s dropped to the team’s No. 2 singles player this season, behind Scott Gray, but that just means the Bulldogs will have one of the toughest singles lineup in the league. Just like last year, the top two CCC teams will be the Bulldogs and Pitman. This season, however, the crosstown rivals seem to be a little more even, making the matches much more exciting.